re: Canon 500D - HDR help.

Hi, Jon;

Welcome! I use the 500D, and I can give a couple of tips. I'm sure these are all in the manual, but may not be collected close together.

You can use the quick control screen (press "set") to set AEB. This is easier than menu, as far as I'm concerned. Use the cross keys to highlight the exposure compensation control, which is in the upper middle. Use "set" to select this. This will bring you to the Exposure Comp./AEB screen. In this screen, the left/right cross keys will change exposure compensation, and the control wheel will change AEB. One tip: in <M> mode, you can just highlight the exposure compensation control and use the control wheel. The control wheel in other creative modes controls exposure compensation, so you have to hit "set" to get to the secondary screen.

If you're in single-shot mode, you'll have to click 3 times. The LCD display will gray out most of the items after the first shot of a 3-shot sequence, and come back after the 3rd, to let you know you're in the middle of a sequence.

If you're in continuous drive mode, you can just hold down the button, as Colin says. Normally, continuous mode will fire a burst at maximum fps, then as many as the buffer and chip will keep up with, but in AEB, it will fire 3 and stop until you release and press it again.

Any of the remote/self-timer modes will fire the 3 shots for you. One thing that's pretty handy is to switch to the 2-second self-timer. That keeps your hands off the camera when it fires, as well, which is a good thing. And of course, if you want to get yourself in the shot, the regular self timer would work (stand very still ).

A wired remote (RS-60) acts like pressing the shutter button, so you have to press 3 times, or hold it in continuous mode. The RC-1 wireless remote causes the camera to fire the 3 shots in AEB. I like to use the RC-1 for HDR, since I don't have to touch the camera at all.